NBC NIGHTLY NEWS
8/28/24
6:56 PM
TOM LLAMAS: Finally, they come from a place where music has been banned, but after a daring escape these young people are finding harmony in a whole new place. Here's Richard Engel.
RICHARD ENGEL: In the city of Braga, known as “the Rome of Portugal”, where tradition and history run deep, members of the Afghan Youth Orchestra are keeping their country's rich musical traditions alive. Because in Afghanistan now, this -- is a crime. Three years ago as U.S. troops left Afghanistan, the Taliban seized power.
MUSICIAN: It was like we were dead.
RICHARD ENGEL: You felt like you were dead?
MUSICIAN: Yes, of course.
ENGEL: For cousins Farida and Zora Ahmadi, it was a threat to their very existence. They were students at Afghanistan's National Institute of Music, established in 2010 in Kabul. The school was a direct challenge to the Taliban's extremism. For years the group tried to silence them, even dispatching a suicide bomber to a performance. So when the Taliban returned as rulers, the music stopped. The school's director, Dr. Ahmad Sarmast, orchestrated a miracle, a mass evacuation of students and staff.
AHMAD SARMAST: It’s an opportunity for our students to dream once again.
ENGEL: Today, the school and orchestra live on in Portugal, and their sacrifices are being recognized with an invitation to play Carnegie hall. It was bittersweet for Zora.
ZORA: We were happy and sad at the same time.
ENGEL: Sad for those left behind in Afghanistan where music remains banned and girls are not allowed more than a sixth grade education. The orchestra is fighting back with instruments. This August, they made it to New York City.
STUDENT: Welcome to Carnegie Hall! No one has silenced us.
ENGEL: Each concert is a protest.
SARLAST: Each note is a protest.
ENGEL: Bringing them one step closer, perhaps, to returning music and hope to their homeland. Richard Engel, NBC News.
LLAMAS: We thank Richard for that special story.
